I've played dnd a bit, and once in a while cursed items come back. The worst time they have got the players was when no one did the research in the evil cleric library, they didn't learn that they just love to make them (Zyphus I believe). Later many of the party looted below and quickly in a rush to seize the new items, put them on, instead of dividing them out fairly or checking if they were cursed. Most were cursed, except the magic-item hating character.

:D

Here is an idea for a new cursed item. It is being thrown in my next game and can be purchased from a street vender of the unusual, along with some tokens to summon random bards and fighters and some healing goop.

Ring of the Snout (cursed)
This old iron ring is embossed with a snout, and two tusks along its length. It grants the scent ability while worn, a truly useful and intriguing special ability for a human. It cannot be removed save after a remove curse spell.

Each day there is a 10% cumulative chance that the wearer will transform into an irritable wereboar hybrid for 24 hours. During that time they lose their civilised selves, become fixated on foraging and eating, and are very easily agitated and taken to hostile. If they kill a target, they will eat it. They gain +4 str, +6 con, 1d6 gore attack, x2 1d4 claw attacks, dr 10/silver, ferocity (die hard), low light vision, scent, +8 natural armour, break out of current clothes and armour rendering them unwearable, but do not have the disease lycanthropy and cannot spread it.

After the 24 hours pass, they return to their old selves, experience stomach craps, face and teeth aches, balance and inner ear problems (-4 dex for 1 day), and the percentage counter starts again.

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Please add cursed items of your own making, or discuss your favourites, and whether cursed items appear in games you have been in, or you as the dm place them.

With the eyes and the tentacle as well? I like my avatar quite a bit, chaos beasts are jolly good fun.

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Bracer of the Ball of Loot (cursed)
This single silver bracer has an image on it, an adventurer rolling a ball of coin, gems, swords and treasure chests up a hill, in the manner of a dung beetle.

When wearing this item, gold and gems can be precisely sensed when within 20ft. The wearer feels a wish to seize them and their greed is heightened. All rolls on treasure tables gain a +5%.

Alas, alack, the wearer is bitten by ants, beetles and especially dung beetles as they sleep, or if they remain in one place too long. The vermin are extremely attracted to the cursed target and seek to take part of them home. Precautions will need to be taken so as to be able to rest and a large amount of hp can be lost over time if the bracer wearer is immobilised/paralysed. The target can also easily be tracked by the streams of ants and beetles to their position if the tracker knows what to look for.

This silver blade carries a +2 Holy enhancement, but can also have stronger enhancements (GM's discretion), and has a cross hilt that depict a pair of angel wings.

If this sword is used to deliver the killing blow to any sentient non-evil creature, the blade turns a dull grey and the angel wings look blood-spattered. The wielder is filled with remorse, and spends a round wailing (counts as dazed), and the sword loses all it's enchantments and gains the "broken" condition, then spends the next 24 hours weeping for the non-evil life ended, giving the wielder -10 to stealth and -4 to all charisma based skills as the wailing makes dealing with the wielder awkward. Also, sleeping is made harder, as the wailing keeps you awake, ensuring that people that are within earshot wakes up the next day fatigued.

Acts as a magical sword of whatever bonus, upon a confirmed critical, instead of doing damage; it 'procures' the undergarment of whatever you are fighting, if it has no undergarment. 'Yours' are 'procured'.

When worn, this amulet causes the carrier to age one age category each week, gaining all relative bonuses and penalties. This continues even when one's age category would be pushed past venerable. When the carrier's strength, dexterity, or constitution becomes 0, the carrier dies, and it's soul is enveloped by the amulet. Only a wish, or miracle spell can bring him back to life.

This golden candlestick is adorned with numerous gems but has a slightly worn look, as if it has been used as an improvised club. It can usually be found in the hands of a corpse. Once picked up the candlestick causes a terrible handcramp, causing the person picking it up unable to let go of. After a few days the pain from the cramp isn't felt anymore but the hand will be useless except for holding the candlestick.

I put a belt of +2 Con on a hobgoblin that was cursed with the gender swap thing. It was a female hobgoblin bandit leader who wore it to hide her identity from the males in her raiding party. The PCs had no idea anything was amiss until the rogue tried it on and failed his save.

He really did freak out. :/ Like, almost ground the game to a halt. Once he had it removed, he ran around trying to "sneak attack" it around everyone else's waist.

I put a belt of +2 Con on a hobgoblin that was cursed with the gender swap thing. It was a female hobgoblin bandit leader who wore it to hide her identity from the males in her raiding party. The PCs had no idea anything was amiss until the rogue tried it on and failed his save.

He really did freak out. :/ Like, almost ground the game to a halt. Once he had it removed, he ran around trying to "sneak attack" it around everyone else's waist.

+2 con sex swap belt, hmmmmmmm, that is a good belt at low levels or in a low magic game. Very good.

This ring grants all the benefits as per the spell, with the power being removed when the ring is removed from the finger. The third time the power is called upon, the curse is activated and the ring becomes as insubstantial as the wearer. The unfortunate character is caught in mist form until a remove curse is cast, whereupon the ring resumes its normal form and can be removed.

This golden candlestick is adorned with numerous gems but has a slightly worn look, as if it has been used as an improvised club. It can usually be found in the hands of a corpse. Once picked up the candlestick causes a terrible handcramp, causing the person picking it up unable to let go of. After a few days the pain from the cramp isn't felt anymore but the hand will be useless except for holding the candlestick.

I took a liking to this one, and it will be going into my game in a few weeks. I would allow them to remove it though, if they got out their scalpels, daggers and were prepared to really injure the hand to pry it off. Bloody surgery time!

I took a liking to this one, and it will be going into my game in a few weeks. I would allow them to remove it though, if they got out their scalpels, daggers and were prepared to really injure the hand to pry it off. Bloody surgery time!

Great ideas people.

Oh yes that's even better! If I can revive my goblin campaign I'm sure the players will do the same (although... one of them is still running around with a wooden shovel as a weapon so who knows...).

Gloves of dex +4, oh great! They can be taken off no problems (what a relief!). If left on at night, both hands become possessed at mid-night, tear off at the wrist over two rounds, and attack the one without a handle on things, as crawling claws, each claw with the hit die of the victim.

Remove curse does not work, the hands become two monsters once the curse is active, and the curse is inactive during the day. Some necromancy spells can re-attach limbs.

I took a liking to this one, and it will be going into my game in a few weeks. I would allow them to remove it though, if they got out their scalpels, daggers and were prepared to really injure the hand to pry it off. Bloody surgery time!

Great ideas people.

Oh yes that's even better! If I can revive my goblin campaign I'm sure the players will do the same (although... one of them is still running around with a wooden shovel as a weapon so who knows...).

However when put on, it is unable to be removed. The wearer is forced to tell the exact truth, all the time, and never able to withhold even the most intimate of information. To avoid being stuck in this situation, the wearer must make both a DC 25 will save

Some believe it was created by a wizard who was tired of her husband cheating on her, and lying to her face about it.

A scroll of the spell "Unseen Servant" which has been improperly copied. While otherwise functioning completely the same, the "servant" is completely visible, and is a creature of such eldritch, mind-bending awfulness that anyone who lays eyes on it must pass a steep Will Save or run screaming from it in panic.

A ring which allows the wearer to fly, but only so long as he is screaming/shouting/singing at the top of his lungs. Requires a performance check.

A helm that grants the wearer a +1 luck bonus to AC, but which also instills in the wearer a profound sense of her own infallibility, an unrelenting belligerence, while at the same time removing all concept of self preservation and proportional response.

This small sack appears to be a bag of tricks when identified. Anyone reaching into the bag feels a small, fuzzy, and slightly lumpy ball. If the ball is removed it quickly turns into a severed hand, foot, or organ that bleeds or oozes profusely. The fluids stain the skin and clothing of the one who drew the ball a ghastly red/black/brown and a noxious stench cause the creature to become permanently sickened if they fail a Fort save. While stained, a creature takes a -2 penalty on any Charisma based skill checks involving creatures that find the stench revolting. On the plus side, animals will avoid the foul smelling individual unless forced or desperate.

A remove curse spell will remove all effects caused by the cursed item from the affected creature. The parts disappear one round after being dropped.

I always liked the thought of "cursed" objects that have drawbacks without mechanics tied to them.

A couple ideas I had include, on the lower end, a helmet that permanently gives one who wears it helmet-hair.

On the more severe side of things, I had introduced a holy avenger in a campaign once that had a legacy of owners who always came to Very Bad Ends. While it was an out-of-the-book holy avenger with no mechanical drawbacks, I wanted the player to think twice about picking it up, (or have his character think twice, since the player had asked for some angst), knowing that he'd likely be dooming himself to disgrace, dishonor, corruption, or worse by claiming the blade.

These boots look like a worn pair of boots of elvenkind, but once put on they cannot be taken off without a remove curse spell. Whenever the wearer rolls a stealth check, they take a -10 on the check as the boots begin to squeak very loudly with every step. These boots squeak on any surface, be it grass, stone, dirt, wood, etc.

This small sack appears to be a bag of tricks when identified. Anyone reaching into the bag feels a small, fuzzy, and slightly lumpy ball. If the ball is removed it quickly turns into a severed hand, foot, or organ that bleeds or oozes profusely. The fluids stain the skin and clothing of the one who drew the ball a ghastly red/black/brown and a noxious stench cause the creature to become permanently sickened if they fail a Fort save. While stained, a creature takes a -2 penalty on any Charisma based skill checks involving creatures that find the stench revolting. On the plus side, animals will avoid the foul smelling individual unless forced or desperate.

A remove curse spell will remove all effects caused by the cursed item from the affected creature. The parts disappear one round after being dropped.

That's how your character got a Gnoll girlfriend. :)

One sick idea I never tried, the ring of command.
Any single shouted word will affect the being in front of them.
This includes all actionable swear words. Great for players who keep swearing at the table.

No a very ordinary shovel used to shovel poop aside in the goblin camp (any poop that even goblins found excessive), one of them found it in a pool of mud that served as the goblin's waste disposer when he got pushed into it. He then decided it was fate and used it against an elder goblin who had a slightly better sleeping spot. Natural 20, confirmed with another 20 I think, so by then the shovel was their biggest asset. I'll roll with it and probably have it evolve with them. A goblin cavalier on a wolf using a dirty wooden shovel as a weapon. Great mental picture, fun story I hope.

OT: great items so far, I'll definately throw in some non-mechanical draw-backs!

This item looks and functions as a spyglass. And once per day it can function as a Gem of Seeing. However, there is a 5% cumulative chance that the kaleidoscope will start showing horrible visages in a roiling sea of nauseating colors, that will haunt the mind of the viewer (DC24 will save or contract a random insanity from the Gamemastery Guide).

Oracles of the Dark Tapestry can use the kaleidoscope without ill effects, and may wield the kaleidoscope as a power focus to increase the DC of his mind-affecting spells by 1.

One type of cursed object is the overreaching attempt.
Too Keen Glave: This item was magically given keen to it's entire length so it could be used in hand to hand as a staff as well. The holder will suffer a constant 1D6 to their hands, which will be bleeding. This attracts monsters and makes tracking the bloody fool very easy.

This intricate gold headband has a small blue gem set so that it rests upon the forehead of the wearer. It in all ways looks just like a Headband of Vast Intelligence. When Detect magic is used on it, it appears to be a Headband of Vast Intelligence. However when donned, it is impossible to be removed, and the wearer is compelled to sing everything they would otherwise speak. They must make a DC 20 will save to avoid singing when speaking. Furthermore, if they go for more than 24 hours without making any noise, they are compelled to burst into an extremly bawdy song, loudly. To avoid singing this song, they must make a DC 25 Will save, each day gone without singing and a will save made means the next will save goes up by five.

This intricate gold headband has a small blue gem set so that it rests upon the forehead of the wearer. It in all ways looks just like a Headband of Vast Intelligence. When Detect magic is used on it, it appears to be a Headband of Vast Intelligence. However when donned, it is impossible to be removed, and the wearer is compelled to sing everything they would otherwise speak. They must make a DC 20 will save to avoid singing when speaking. Furthermore, if they go for more than 24 hours without making any noise, they are compelled to burst into an extremly bawdy song, loudly. To avoid singing this song, they must make a DC 25 Will save, each day gone without singing and a will save made means the next will save goes up by five.

Item Creation Headband of Vast Intelligence, Any; Weight 1 lb.

Great fun, just don't let a player who CAN'T sing get it.

Good one! Roleplay fun for the entire group hehe. It needs a length for the song sung after 24 hours of not singing. One hour long or so, or in a stressful situation (activated like the Oracle's Tongues curse)

This intricate gold headband has a small blue gem set so that it rests upon the forehead of the wearer. It in all ways looks just like a Headband of Vast Intelligence. When Detect magic is used on it, it appears to be a Headband of Vast Intelligence. However when donned, it is impossible to be removed, and the wearer is compelled to sing everything they would otherwise speak. They must make a DC 20 will save to avoid singing when speaking. Furthermore, if they go for more than 24 hours without making any noise, they are compelled to burst into an extremly bawdy song, loudly. To avoid singing this song, they must make a DC 25 Will save, each day gone without singing and a will save made means the next will save goes up by five.

Item Creation Headband of Vast Intelligence, Any; Weight 1 lb.

Great fun, just don't let a player who CAN'T sing get it.

Good one! Roleplay fun for the entire group hehe. It needs a length for the song sung after 24 hours of not singing. One hour long or so, or in a stressful situation (activated like the Oracle's Tongues curse)

It would end when the song ended, or somebody punched them out out of sheer irritation.

Shameless plug time: Damnable Things: Rings from Iron Hills Games lists two cursed variants for each of the enchanted rings in the core rules and introduces 15 noncursed rings (3 with greater variants) and 2 cursed variant for each of those as well. We're also getting ready to put out the second volume in the series, so keep your eyes out for it if you are interested.

And, as a quick sampler:

Ring of DarknessAura faint transmutation ; CL 5th
Slot ring; Weight –
DESCRIPTION
This ring appears and functions as a ring of shadows.
Upon putting on the ring, the wearer becomes sensitive to
light, suffering a -2 modifier to attack rolls, damage rolls
and skill checks when in light brighter than low light.
This ring can be removed by casting light followed by
remove curse upon it, destroying the ring in the process.
CREATIONMagic Items ring of shadows

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And one of my favorites ...

Ring of the Cluttered MindAura moderate (I) or strong (II–IV) (no school); CL 11th
(I), 14th (II), 17th (III), 20th (IV)
Slot ring; Weight –
DESCRIPTION
This ring appears to be a ring of wizardry. Once worn,
however, the true nature of the ring is shown. The wearer
must immediately make a DC 20 Will save or take 1d2
points of permanent Intelligence damage. Additionally,
this check must be made each day until the ring is removed
or the wearer’s Intelligence score reaches zero.
Additionally, the ring causes the wearer to lose access to
the ability to cast spells of certain levels depending on the
type of ring of wizardry it was intended to be. These spell
eliminations remain in effect until the ring is removed.
A type I ring eliminates 1st-level spells, a type II ring
eliminates 2nd-level spells, a type III ring eliminates 3rdlevel
spells, and a type IV ring eliminates 4th-level spells.
Bonus spells from high ability scores or school specialization
are not eliminated.
This ring can only be removed by the casting of remove
curse upon it followed by a successful casting of dispel magic.
Doing so renders the ring non-magical.
CREATIONMagic Items ring of wizardry

On the more severe side of things, I had introduced a holy avenger in a campaign once that had a legacy of owners who always came to Very Bad Ends. While it was an out-of-the-book holy avenger with no mechanical drawbacks, I wanted the player to think twice about picking it up, (or have his character think twice, since the player had asked for some angst), knowing that he'd likely be dooming himself to disgrace, dishonor, corruption, or worse by claiming the blade.

Early in the campaign I'm running, I introduced a Macguffin of unspeakable power with a really evil reputation. The PCs have only had the gumption to use it once.

At a cursory glance, this is an apparent spell scroll for those familiar with such things Arcana DC 5. Upon closer reading of the scroll, a will save is made of DC 23. If it is failed the target carefully puts the scroll aside, and then goes into a berserk rage and attacks the nearest target with their most effective damaging spells or melee weapon and continuing from there for 2 hours. After this time, they will be fatigued considerably, if they survive. Remove curse ends the rage and the target gathers their senses. If the reader passes they feel they should discard it immediately and are safe from the rage ability for the day. It can effect three people per day with the rage. Thus it is useful for set-ups, frame-jobs and the ruining of reputations. It is worth a lot to the right buyers, e.g. shadowy secret societies.

Evar the Fatigued grew to hate fighter/wizards and wizard/rogues who would plunder his hoards of magic items and the many spellbooks he had gathered. He created multiples of these and hid them in his lairs and within the pages of spellbooks, "oh look, it is a spell scroll tucked within the book's pages, thanks stupid wizard... RARRGH"

This golden candlestick is adorned with numerous gems but has a slightly worn look, as if it has been used as an improvised club. It can usually be found in the hands of a corpse. Once picked up the candlestick causes a terrible handcramp, causing the person picking it up unable to let go of. After a few days the pain from the cramp isn't felt anymore but the hand will be useless except for holding the candlestick.

classical revisited
cursed ring of feather fall
once the wearer fall from a distance bigger than 12feet, the rign does not work as a feater fall rign anymore. instead , it rains feathers around the wearer.

Armour seems to be +3 full plate, pale and beautiful. When donned the wearer cannot escape, it clings and it changes to shatter-prone ceramic (as unenchanted full plate). Problem is, it sticks and digs into the wearer as it is broken. Its starts as full-plate +1, but each hit lowers the ac by 1 and causes 1d8+2 points of damage, in addition to the damage from the hit. The ac penalty goes to a total of -3 before the armour falls away, finally.

Floating anchor stone: This odd 2 foot wide cube of stone is found floating. Most characters will tie some heavy items to it and pull it alone like a balloon. Too bad it will soon drain all the weight out of everything it touches, including the PC pulling it along. It is connected to an Alternate Prime which was busted apart and is trying to hold on to an atmosphere and keep from becoming an asteroid belt.